<p>Hi everyone. As the deadline of May 1st slowly begins to loom closer and closer in front of me, I am still having trouble deciding where to go. Right now, my top four choices are Penn State, RPI, the honors program at Virginia Tech, and the honors program at Syracuse. As of right now, they're all offering me very similar financial packages, so thats not really an issue. I'm planning on majoring in mechanical engineering, but of course that could change. I just want to know what everyone thinks of each school, any experiences anyone may have, and opinions on which one might be the best. Any input that could help my decision is appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>
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<p>Why don’t you post on the individual fora and ask for opinions there?</p>
<p>Va Tech and Penn State have nationally ranked engineering programs. I would think the honors program at VA tech would offer you some advantages (registration, housing??). Where do you see yourself? Are you a cold weather person? PSU and Syracuse get lots of snow. Are you interested in Div 1 sports (if so, forget RPI) There is so much to the college experience. Only you know what you are looking for both, in and outside the classroom. You have named three very large universities and one small one. Do you want to attend a school with 25,000+ students? I cannot comment on the engineering programs at any of these schools but congratulations for getting into all four. I would suggest that you make a list of what your ideal is when thinking about a college. Include things like academics, location, housing, money, student involvment, big city/small city, distance from home, athletics, career placement opportunities, class size, etc. Then answer these questions for each of the four schools. Which one comes closest to your ideal? That may lead you in the right direction. I will tell you I would always recommend taking a hard look at an honors program since admission into it is more selective. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I have heard amazing things about Penn State and their engineering program. I have a few friends who have gone there and one who has even graduated (from engineering actually), and he told me that with a decent GPA from there you can pretty much get a job anywhere. The others say it’s a great school, but they aren’t in the engineering program themselves.</p>
<p>Good luck where ever you go!</p>
<p>RPI is awesome for engineering. The caliber of its students is very high (SAT 25th - 75th percentile 1270 - 1450) and the academic / research facilities are among the best in the world.</p>
<p>In the realm of input that could help your decision, YMMV</p>
<p>From the NRC rankings of graduate programs (1995 - it’s self sustaining so it doesn’t change much) in Mechanical Engineering based on faculty quality</p>
<p>Penn St and RPI are tied at 18
Virginia Tech is 35
Syracuse is 93</p>
<p>Does any of this matter? I’m not sure, but 93 is a long way from 18. Heck it’s a long way from 35.</p>